Still

Chapter 3: Risks

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters. Credits to the author.

Sachiko

Sachiko's phone vibrated. It was her secretary, inquiring if she should cancel or reschedule the meeting she skipped this morning. She pocketed her phone, not bothering to respond. The elevator pinged, indicating that she has reached her floor and she stepped out.

"Please reschedule my meeting to tomorrow afternoon" she said as she passed by Keiko.

"You have 2pm to 4pm available tomorrow ma'am" Keiko responded, standing up, notebook in hand to follow her boss inside the older woman's office.

"That would work. But can you confirm with Mr. Ishikawa if he has that time free as well? Otherwise, we will find another more convenient time".

Keiko looked away from her notes and stared. It was rare for Ogasawara Sachiko to consider the availability of her subordinates. Usually, they rearrange their schedules to fit hers.

"And can I request you to get some sandwiches for me?" Sachiko asked with a smile.

Again, another rare occurrence for the young secretary – seeing her boss smile and request, instead of just command.

"Keiko?" Sachiko asked, when she didn't hear a response. "If it is difficult to get some delivered, I can just go to the company cafeteria. I know you're quite busy, and because of me, I might add." Sachiko said thoughtfully still oblivious of the other woman's surprise.

"N-n-no ma'am. I will order some sandwiches and get it delivered right away. Do I get tuna, like before?"

"Tuna sounds good, thank you Keiko. And no need to rush, I have the morning off due to the cancelled meeting." She added before turning her attention to her laptop to respond to various emails.

Keiko walked out of the office still questioning what could have caused her boss to be this nice. She had been working for Ogasawara Sachiko for two years now and it was Ms. Sachiko's dedication to her work that made Keiko want to stay and work with this powerful woman even more. She is not the kindest boss, but to Keiko she has always been reasonable. She rarely shouts at her and has never asked for anything beyond Keiko's capabilities. But this version of a kinder Ogasawara Sachiko-sama surprised her, not believing that it existed. With a light heart, Keiko proceeded to her desk and looked at the take away leaflets to get her boss some lunch, which she rarely had.

Yumi

Yumi's day went by in a blur. She finished the task assigned to her, but it was almost midnight before she was able to shut her computer down and organize the stack of plans back to her manager's desk for review. The office was almost empty by now, so she dropped all formality and pulled her hair up using one of her pencils. An old habit for when she is stressed and have mountains of work to finish in a hurry.

"Still pulling those all nighters, Fukuzawa-san?"

"Akira-san, I see you have your own pile of plans for boss' review" Yumi nodded at the documents in the man's arms.

"Actually, they were Minami Rica-san's. She needed to leave due to an emergency so she asked for my help at the last minute"

Akira Jun-san is Yumi's senior by a few years. He had helped her when she was just starting, and once in a while still gives Yumi advice on how to handle their hot headed manager. And unknown to Yumi is one of her secret admirers. Akira-san decided to accept Minami-san's work because he knew that Fukuzawa-san will be rendering overtime as well. He knew to keep his distance, seeing as the woman he considers his junior is a heart-breaker. He found it unbelievable at first, given that she has an angelic face and a positive persona. Only when one of his colleagues got his heart broken did he believe the rumours to be true.

"You mean an 'emergency' date?" Yumi laughed.

Akira blushed, it was that open and joyous laugh that made him want to make Fukuzawa his'. With a shake of his head, "It was just a date?!" he said in disbelief.

"Actually yes. Don't tell her I told you Akira-san"

"And what made you decide to turn on your friend?"

"You seem like a kind person. You helped me a lot when I started in this firm and you still do, until now. How about I treat you to dinner? As an apology for my friend's emergency?"

Akira was scared, he wanted to say 'no' and avoid being too close with this heart breaker. But her innocent smile and gentle eyes called out to him. Without much thought, he nodded 'yes'.

xxx

"It was a mistake. A total mistake to date Akira-san" Yumi said. She and Yoshino are on their way to the coffee shop one Sunday afternoon. They were wrapped in winter clothes to block the cold December winter air.

"How long have you been seeing him?"

"A month. It was just a casual dinner after work, when he suddenly confessed and asked if we could date. How could I decline, he has been my mentor for so long?!" Yumi said burying her face in her hands.

"What's wrong with dating him? Men take a longer time to mature, so dating an older guy may be the right choice for you" Yoshino responded.

"You don't understand Yoshino-" Yumi whined.

"Let me guess, you want to break up with him now, don't you?" her friend said knowingly.

Yumi nodded. Of course she wanted to break up with him. It was suffocating. She sees him the moment she walks into the office, eats lunch with him (unless he has client meetings) and even goes out to dinner with him most of the time. He is very possessive, making every guy in the office afraid of approaching Yumi even if the conversation is work-related. She hates it. But at the same time, she cannot bring herself to break up with him because the man has been promoted to a senior designer and they are now working on a project together. Putting things to an end may also mean the start of awkward project meetings.

"This is awful" Yumi said as she pushed the door open and the aromatic smell of coffee reached her nose, making her a tad bit happier. The line was shorter today, so Yumi happily went to the end of the line.

"I will break up with him." Yumi finally said with resolve.

Yoshino sighed. "I knew you would eventually end up with that conclusion"

Yumi gave her a look before saying "I'm getting a mint mocha today" to man behind the counter.

"Just chamomile tea for me" Yoshino chimed in.

"Hey there Yumi-san" the barista, one of Kouru-kun's friends, greeted her before punching their orders. He called out to the bar to have their drinks prepared. And just as she handed money to the man, his face lit up as if remembering something and said, "Are you acquainted with that black haired woman?"

Yumi instantly knew who he was talking about, but acted nonchalant about it. "Who?"

"You know, the one you pulled out of the café just last month because she was scolding one of our regulars. She left her book at one of the tables last week. The book doesn't have a contact number, only a name. We waited for her to return but never did. It was Kouru who remembered that you two were acquainted, seeing as you knew the coffee she would be ordering, remember?" the barista said.

"She really is a looker isn't she?" the guy continued. "She has an air of superiority around her that makes you just stare, admire her from afar, and not approach her. You two are close friends?"

Yumi was beginning to shake her head that he was mistaken, but before she got a word out, the man shoved a paperback book into her hands. She flipped the cover and true enough on the first page was her name.

"Can you give that back?" the barista said.

"One regular mint mocha and one chamomile tea for Yumi!" someone at the end of the bar shouted.

"That's ours" Yoshino exclaimed, pulling the still dazed Yumi out of the now growing line of customers.

Yoshino picked up the tray of coffee with one hand and proceeded to pulling her friend with another towards one empty spot by the corner.

"What was that all about?" Yoshino asked as she settled across from Yumi at a small round wooden table.

When Yumi did not respond, she continued, "You met with Sachiko-sama in this coffee shop?"

Her friend's voice was accusing, as if she hid this little detail on purpose. "It was an accidental meeting. I was getting my coffee and so was she." Yumi defended.

"Ogasawara Sachiko does not line up for coffee" Yoshino said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well she does. Or at least she did, when I bumped into her."

"And you ordered coffee for her?" Yoshino accused again.

"It's a long story Yoshino-san"

"Well, we have the whole afternoon" giving her a look that they will not leave until she spills the beans.

With a sigh, Yumi told her everything. It was not really so much of a long story that made her forget sharing the encounter with Yoshino. It was because she herself still could not believe that it happened.

"And you just stood outside this café and argued like a normal couple?" Yoshino was smiling now.

"No! Of course not. It was… well, I…" Yumi began. How she was able to act normally around Sachiko still puzzled her.

"Just admit that you still love her and still wish to get back together with her" Yoshino laughed, but abruptly stopped upon seeing Yumi's expression. She mentally kicked herself for her insensitivity.

Her lips were drawn to a smile, but her eyes were pools of sadness, "No Yoshino-san, I cannot be with her. So can we drop the topic?"

Yoshino still cannot understand why they agreed to break up even when they still clearly love each other. And why they haven't got back together despite still feeling the same way after all these years still puzzles her. But she will leave that persuading to another day, when her friend was ready. And the upcoming event in a few months is a perfect time to push Yumi until she gives up and rushes back into Sachiko-sama's welcoming arms.

xxx

It took Yumi a week before she decided to drop by the Ogasawara Company to return Sachiko's book. It was adorned by a simple book cover, Yumi herself made and gave to her onee-sama when they were still in high school. She always kept the book in her bag, debating what to do with the accursed item. Until one morning, she steeled her resolve and decided to give it back.

In her head, she pictured going into the company's reception area and hand the book to one of many receptionist claiming that an Ogasawara Sachiko had left her book at a café and that she just happened to pick it up. It was a simple plan and she doesn't even need to see her.

It was on her Friday off that she decided to do it. She dressed herself in black pressed slacks and a long sleeve blouse, to be able to fit in.

The atrium of the Ogasawara Company was enormous. She went with a throng of people going in to avoid being questioned by the security guard as to why she didn't have an ID. Once inside, she looked for the reception desk only to find herself surrounded by more people in business suits. She was being dragged towards the elevator, away from the front desk she needed to go to. When she tried to break away from the group, one of the guards gave her a questioning look. So she just smiled and went back inside the elevator.

The chatter died down as the elevator door closed. She patiently waited for the door to open, not daring to press a lower floor button and draw attention on herself once again. She was planning to transfer to another lift as soon as the door opens to go back down the lobby, leave the book at the desk without another word and exit the building. The book has a name, they will figure it out, she reasoned.

The elevator pinged and slowed down. Yumi heaved a sigh of relief, thinking she was seconds away from walking out this building. Not expecting to see a very stunned Ogasawara Suguru on the other side of the door.

One man from the back excused himself to exit the elevator, and Yumi being in front of a full elevator was forced to get out to let the man through. She nodded to Suguru-san by way of greeting before stepping back inside. But she was unable to because Suguru instantly grabbed her arms and yanked her away from the closing elevator doors.

"That was dangerous Yumi-chan" Suguru-san said.

His companions were surprised by his actions, but was even more surprised by the familiar way he addressed the young beautiful woman.

"Saa-chan will kill me if she finds out that I let you be crushed by the elevator door" he joked. "I have a business meeting right now, Sachiko's office is down by the hall. She is not there at the moment and will not be back until about noon, but you can wait for her." Suguru-san said hurriedly.

"You look good Yumi-chan" he smiled one last time before walking towards the direction of a conference room.

Yumi watched Suguru-san's retreating back, torn between taking the elevator door back down and walking towards the place he indicated. According to Suguru-san, she is out and the possibility of encountering her is very little.

Should she risk it?

A/N: Thanks for the comments on the first two chapters. As always, please share your thoughts with me.

**imoshen88 thanks for being another set of eyes to review my story** \(^_^)/